1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operating mechanism for a medical device which is used to perform functional operations by a switching operation, and which is suitable for use in medical devices that are sterilized in an autoclave.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, autoclave sterilization using high-temperature high-pressure steam has become popular as a method for sterilizing medical devices such as endoscopes and the like.
Generally, remote switches used for functional operations such as endoscopic image brightness adjustment, endoscopic image freeze designation, focus adjustment of the endoscope or the like are installed in electronic endoscopes that allow observation or treatment inside body cavities by the insertion of a long slender insertion part into such body cavities, and endoscopic imaging devices that are detachably attached to the ocular part of the endoscope and that capture endoscopic images.
An endoscope in which an optical lens inside an air-tight unit that is not permeated by steam even in the case of autoclave sterilization is moved by the operation of a remote switch located outside this air-tight unit so that the focal point is adjusted is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-139819 as one example of an autoclave-sterilizable endoscope that has such a remote switch.